Thousands gather on Sydney beach to honor victims of Jewish festival attack
Kyiv • UNN
Thousands gathered on Sydney's Bondi Beach a week after an attack on a Jewish festival that killed 15 people. The event was attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other high-ranking officials, as authorities step up the fight against antisemitism.
On Sunday evening, thousands of mourners gathered under heavy police guard at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach to mark a week since two gunmen attacked a Jewish festival, killing 15 people, UNN reports with reference to AP.
The publication notes that Australian authorities have stepped up their fight against anti-Semitism and strengthened the already strict national gun control.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his predecessors John Howard and Scott Morrison, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn, representing Australia's head of state King Charles III, were among the dignitaries at the memorial event, which drew more than 10,000 people.
"This must be the lowest level of anti-Semitism in our country," said David Ossip, president of the Jewish Council of Deputies of New South Wales. "This must be the moment when light begins to overshadow darkness."
The attendees booed Albanese when his presence was announced. Opposition leader Susan Ley, who said that a conservative government led by her would reverse the decision made this year by Albanese's left-center Labor Party government to recognize a Palestinian state, was met with approval.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply criticized Albanese for the attack on the Hanukkah celebration, stating: "Your call for the creation of a Palestinian state adds fuel to the anti-Semitic fire." Netanyahu has repeatedly tried to link widespread calls for a Palestinian state and criticism of Israel's military operation in Gaza after the 2023 Hamas attack to the growing number of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide.